It is heretofore known to provide a Remote Meter Recharging System ("RMRS") for use with electronic postage meters, such as models 6500 and 6900 available from Pitney Bowes Inc., the assignee of the present application. In the RMRS system the postage meter vendor, e.g. Pitney Bowes Inc., is authorized to operate an RMRS center, where the postage meter customer maintains a customer account. In order to recharge a meter, the customer contacts the RMRS center by telephone to request a transfer of funds from the customer account at the RMRS center to the postage meter. The customer provides the postage meter identification number, the amount of postage requested, and a meter access code. The RMRS center computes a RMRS key number and furnishes this number to the customer, who keys this number into the meter. The meter also computes a meter key number and compares the RMRS key number and the meter key number. If the numbers match, the meter vault will be refilled with the requested amount of funds up to the RMRS center account balance.
A system for controlling a network of postage meters is disclosed in the European Patent Application No. 86108929.0 of SMH Alcatel Ltd. entitled "Process and System for Controlling Postage Meters," published Jan. 7, 1987 under publication No. 0,207,492. Similar systems are apparently disclosed in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 172493/1987 entitled "Mail Charge Processing Apparatus" filed in the name of Nippon Signal Co. Ltd. and U.K. Patent No. 2,173,738 entitled "Secure Transport of Information Between Electronic Stations" filed in the name of Roneo Alcatel Ltd. The system there disclosed apparently requires a complete transfer of the postage meter vault, i.e., the ascending and descending registers, to an integrated circuit card. To use a postage meter under the SMH Alcatel system an integrated circuit card must be disposed in the postage meter so that postage may be charged back to a fixed logic array on the card. In the absence of a card, the SMH Alcatel postage meter cannot be accessed. Accordingly, the SMH Alcatel system requires that the meter vault be transferred to the integrated circuit card. In the presently existing federal regulatory climate approval of such a system is questionable. Similar systems are apparently disclosed in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 172493/1987 entitled "Mail Charge Processing Apparatus" filed in the name of Nippon Signal Co. Ltd. and U.K. Patent No. 2,173,738 entitled "Secure Transport of Information Between Electronic Stations" filed in the name of Roneo Alcatel Ltd.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,011 issued to Simjian entitled "Coupon Controlled Metering Device" discloses a single use coded coupon for updating a postage meter register. A similar magnetic card system having audit functions is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,871 entitled "Electronic Postage Meter System Settable by Means of a Remotely Generated Input Device."
It is one objective of the present invention to provide secure transfer of funds from an authorized center to a postage meter at the customer's premises.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide secure transfer of postal funds to a postage meter without removing the vault from the postage meter to the transfer medium.
These and other highly desirable objects and advantages are obtained in a convenient yet secure postage meter recharging system in accordance with the invention.
Objects and advantages of the invention are set forth in part herein and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.